Since it's my theme and my album, might as well start us out.
1) What are this albums' strengths?
Essentially, this is the hip hop equivalent of black metal. Harsh, dangerous, and angry.
I think one of this album's main strengths is that it is just different. It is so far outside the musical experience of many that it captures them immediately, or at least it did to me. I had never heard anything like it before when I first heard it. It's a wonderful combination of My Bloody Valentine guitar riffs, industrial beats, harsh lofi noise samples, awesome turntablism and vicious lyricism.
2) What are its weaknessess?
This album nearly flawless, in my humble opinion. It has a few problems, but they're quite minor.
The song "Koner" is one of two instrumentals on "Absence." Unlike the title song, it drags on and bores me, personally. The song right after, "In The Midst Of Struggle," is good until about halfway into it when it goes into a lengthy instrumental bit. This part of the song just drags on and on and on, and would have been better left out.
The only other real "flaw" of this album (for most people, anyway), is the same as its strength... it is the hip hop equivalent of black metal. Many people couldn't stand listening to any of the songs here, they're just too "weird" for them. This is seriously limiting Dalek's audience.
3) How does it compare to the artist's other work?
So far I've only listened to this and "Abandoned Language." I like them about equally, but everything on "Abandoned Language" is faaaar more listenable than anything here.
4) Favourite songs?
Just about all of them are good (aside from the two mentioned), but my favorites are definitely "A Beast Caged," "Culture For Dollars," and "Ever Somber."
5) What feelings did this album evoke?
Frustration is at the front. You really feel the injustice of the world when you listen to their lyrics, and their anger makes you feel pissed. And of course (following the theme), it makes you feel like a badass.
6) How does this album fit into your regular rotation?
It's fairly new to me so I've been listening to it very regularly since I picked it up.
7) What stood out to you about this album's themes, musically/lyrically?
The album's lyrics are a smorgasbord of social commentary... all of it angry. Musically, as noted before, there is a lack of almost anything resembling melody. It's all noise, all the time. Sometimes sounds like a train is in the process of wrecking, with twisting metal grating against metal... which is not necessarily a bad thing.
8) If you've had any noteworthy experiences with this album, what have they been?
The first time I gave this album a listen, I was playing Team Fortress 2. And gosh dang did I feel like a badass. I could almost swear that I was killing more people and dying less just because the awesomeness of this album made me focus on killing the crap out of people. Good stuff.
So there ya go. Thoughts?
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Linear Mode
